Consumer demand for smaller, lighter and more compact products that can be easily managed fuels the desire of manufacturers to deliver such products to market. Responding to the demand of consumers, manufacturers produce products such as desktop, laptop and hand-held computing devices that use components that require a minimal amount of space. As a result, consumer products that are increasingly convenient to manage in terms of their weight and the amount of space that they occupy continually arrive on the market. However, there exists a continued need for innovation in this area.
Vertical height adjustment is a basic feature of many electronic device assemblies, e.g., desktop computers, other devices that use flat panel displays etc. Moreover, flat panel display assemblies that feature vertical height adjustment provide consumers with a capacity to adjust the vertical height of a display to suit an individual consumers needs. However, many of the conventional approaches to vertical height adjustment include parts that are heavy and that consume a significant amount of space.
Several approaches to height adjustment have been employed in the past. In one approach, an assembly that includes a heavy column that uses a constant force spring and racks with gears is employed. The assembly is very heavy which adds cost for shipping and work for setup.
In another approach, an assembly that includes a double pivoted arm is employed. The assembly includes plates and springs and pivot washers at the upper and lower pivots of the double pivoted arm. Because of the friction washers that are used to keep the double pivoted arm in position, users have to overcome the friction that is provided by the friction washers during adjustment of the double pivoted arm. To overcome this problem, either more force is required from the user to adjust the double pivoted arm, or additional springs are needed in the pivot shafts to assist the users' adjustment of the double pivoted arm. In addition, the assembly of the double pivoted arm must be made sufficiently stiff to provide stability (e.g., resist wobbling), which adds parts, weight, size, and cost.